The Box

7/2/2015

Ok so I figured with this being my first blog and all we should discuss something very important to me. A Box. A sacred box. The contents of this box determine the grounds of relationships, the meeting of minds, the common ground that defines family, friend and foe. This box is impenetrable, unshakeable, unmovable, its sturdy enough to stand on, for my whole family to stand on. This box is very old, ancient even, but it will last forever. The box's contents are precious to me and I am very protective over them. I rarely get offended, but when I do its when someone disregards the value of what is in my box.

"What's in the box? WHAT'S IN THE BOX???"

No more suspense, in the box are my core beliefs. I am a Christian, but unfortunately that is no longer enough of a description of what I believe. Many people also claim to be Christians however our beliefs are not at all the same. I consider my box a meeting ground to determine what we have in common and where we are different. But these core beliefs are non negotiable, they are truth, they cant be swayed or changed by time, culture, or relevance. I believe that if you also believe what is in the box and practice it then I consider you part of my faith family, a Christ follower, a Christian.

Now there are a lot of different things Christians believe that give us diversity, some Christians believe in the trinity, some don't, some believe in prophesy, some don't, some believe in speaking in tongues, some don't, some believe in eternal security, some don't. I could be here all day listing the different views of Christians but I believe all of these things are outside of the box. I believe these things are debatable, not that I don't already have my mind made up on most of these I still enjoy the discussion. Of these things we can disagree extremely and I can still call you family.

Its important to include this in my first post because these truths guide who I am, what I do and what I write about. If after reading this list you see that you don't share the same beliefs, don't worry we can still be friends but I'd like to talk to you about what and why you disagree. You see my ultimate goal in life is to compel others towards Christ never away from Him.

My Box
1. The Bible is God's word.
Every word is God Breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2Timothy 3:16
2. There is only One God.
God has revealed himself to us through His word and through Nature. He is the creator and sustainer of all life, Creator of the universe.
3. God created Man.
God created man in his own image, and wants a relationship with mankind.
4. Sin Separates Man and God.
Sin is disobedience and God is completely Holy (pure) and the two can't overlap.
5. Jesus
Jesus is God's son who was sent to the world to save it from sin not condemn it. He was born of a virgin. He was fully God and Fully man. He lived a sinless life . He died a gruesome death on the cross. His blood was poured out as a ransom for Mankind. He sacrificed himself to restore the relationship between God and Man. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. Three days after his death He rose again and walked the earth for 40 days. He defeated Death. He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us. He is coming back again to rule the World. He is the only way to God.
6. Becoming a Christian is simple.
Realize Jesus is the only way to restore your relationship with God. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, Ask Him to be in charge of you life, Let Him Be in Charge.
7.Heaven and Hell are Real Places
Everyone will end up at one of them after you die.
8. Each Christian has a job to do.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

That's it.. That's all that is in my box
I hope that after reading this you found out that we are family after all, even if I'm that weird cousin you avoid at reunions. If you read this but disagree on some points let me know, Friends I would love to talk, I want nothing more than to have more understanding not more dissension. I am also curious as to what is in your box? what are your core beliefs?

This blog wont always be about faith but whether I am talking about potty training or politics this is the root of the root, the bud of the bud. this is the start.

love you all.

-V

9 Comments

jamie Zenteno

7/2/2015 10:59:11 am

Good writing :)

Teresa Ezell

7/2/2015 01:50:19 pm

I like the idea, but I believe "The Trinity" needs to be in "the box".

Vanessa Cordell

7/2/2015 02:24:52 pm

Well that's a good point Teresa, I absolutely believe in the trinity but it's not in my box because I think "Jesus only" people may have a bad doctrine but I still think they are heaven bound, what do you think? It's not that they don't believe in God and the Holy Spirit... They just don't acknowledge the trinity because it was never mentioned in the bible (I however think although the word trinity isn't mentioned it is absolutely alluded to) Would there be anything else in your box Teresa ?

Patty Gilvarry

7/3/2015 02:49:36 am

I also strongly believe that"TheTrinity" belongs in the box. When it comes to faith based Christians it seems to be a deal breaker for many

Mark link

7/13/2015 08:49:01 am

V,

I strongly agree with many of the things you've said. I'm often frightened when people speak of "unshakeable" things they believe in, especially something as close to the heart as faith. I worry that such a strong belief can lead to blindness, and rejection, and eventually anger. However, I think you've been clever in how you've worded your thoughts and feelings here, which is excellent--you aren't alienating disbelievers (or believers in other variations, or completely different faiths), only asking for discussion. EXCELLENT answer--I wish more people were as open.

However (again), I'm going to challenge you on one point. Not condemnation, just a question, perhaps hoping for a clarification. You say:

"1. The Bible is God's word.
Every word is God Breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2Timothy 3:16"

And then you say:

"But these core beliefs are non negotiable, they are truth, they cant be swayed or changed by time, culture, or relevance."

I truly believe that the word as given to man was spoken by the Lord. I can't back it up, but I believe that the Word as initially written by man was also true; as true as anything God has done. No argument with what you've said there.

My fear is what has happened between then and now. The Bible we read has been translated many times, rewritten, rephrased, changed, had parts included, parts excluded. Many of these changes were made by the Catholic Church (or predecessors to it). Catholics believe that the apocrypha are part of the Bible, most Protestants do not.
In addition to what is “included” in the Bible, I’m afraid of what may have been changed during translation. There are often sayings, phrases, ideas that are not easily brought from one modern language into another. Even within a language: just look at any of the Constitutional arguments that are eternally ongoing. It would get even more complex moving from a “dead” language to a modern one. These differences can lead to changes in beliefs: did Mary have other children after Jesus? Does communion mean you’re ACTUALLY drinking Jesus’ blood? My father believed that women should never speak in church; he had a very hard time accepting this change, even in his own Catholic faith.

Many of these changes are trivial; I won’t argue differently. I don’t think most of them should have any impact on who is part of your family in faith (quite the opposite, I believe a healthy discussion of these differences can bring people closer). I do, however, believe that the Bible, as it stands today, potentially has flaws in it—flaws introduced by man due to the politics of the early church, the lack of knowledge and understanding when the books were brought together and when they were translated. Think of the Council of Trent, and subsequent revisions for Calvinism, Greek Orthodox, Anglicanism, etc.

I believe that the Word of God, as written by the original authors, is perfect. I also believe that, sometimes, that Word has had errors introduced, both intentionally and unintentionally, by man in the intervening years; as such, I attempt to look carefully at the text when I read it, and open my heart for understanding when I learn, hoping for my faith to be strong enough to hear the true Word when I read.

An interesting, possibly unrelated exercise: ask a devout Muslim to tell you the story of Moses according to their doctrine. It’s…well, it’s hard to describe the other viewpoint, and the experience of hearing a story so fundamental to Christianity used as the basis for a “different” religion.

Vanessa link

7/13/2015 11:26:48 am

Mark I agree with you that the Bible is perfect in its original manuscripts and that man has placed his finger prints on it in translations, the addition of chapters and verses. however I also believe the canonization method used by the early Christian church to determine which books made the cut was also God-guided. Your question or point rather, has a huge answer. and it comes down to do I believe that the bible that we read today is reliable. My answer is Yes. Some translations I believe are farther from the original text and some are closer to the original manuscript, but we do have manuscripts to compare it with, more than any other historical document ever, thousands and thousand of manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts that all line up. When it comes to textual criticism the bible passes. when comparing current translations and original manuscripts there are some errors or changes known as "variants" because how dare we say error..lol but those are slight and they do not change any central belief of Christianity. And Historically the New testament is quoted by scholars in secular recording from the first century so much that every verse of the new testament with the exception of 11 verses is recorded. that to me is incredible. There are millions of books on the textual criticism of the bible and its reliability, however if you want to read more in depth one of my favorite is a guy called Daniel Wallace he wrote "The reliability of the New Testament." also read J.P. Moreland "Scaling the Secular City" . Now as for the apocrapha, or any other additions to the bible I do not believe those are scripture. they didn't meet the criteria to be included so therefore may be useful for history or placing context of time and meaning but not as scripture. Now Calvinism, Greek Orthodox, Anglicanism those are different interpretations in doctrine but not necessarily in bible text but the interpretation of those texts. I hope I answered some of what you asked there have been about three diaper changes in this one response so I hope it makes sense. As for the muslim I have read parts of the Quran and that was an exercise kind of like watching ABC's version of the bible... big differences.BIG lol

7/14/2015 08:44:13 am

V,

My reading list is huge, but these will DEFINITELY get in there some where.

Several years ago, I read The Reformation, by MacCulloch. It was..daunting..to say the least. It actually took me two tries, about 5 years apart, to actually get through it. Quite dry, even for a history fan.

I'm less skeptical of the early Christian church than I am of the semi-old Catholic church. Let's call it 1400-1700, maybe even later, when the church had such extreme power. There's a lot that went on during that period that was certainly not divinely inspired, and it's hard for me to believe that they were able to separate this work, despite its crucial foundation to the religion, from other work that was not divinely inspired.

Totally agree--the New Testament is significantly more reliable, and consistent, than the Old. And the New Testament is also more fundamental (wrong word? more important doesn't seem right either...) to our life, our beliefs.

The central belief of Christianity--that's a tough one. When I say "Apocrypha," I should probably be more specific. In this case, I'm referring to the books accepted by the current Roman Catholic church as being part of the Bible, but have been rejected by most Protestant denominations. Judith, Tobit, parts of Esther, Wisdom, parts of Daniel, 1st & 2nd Maccabees, among others. They were included in canon until the Reformation, and now many Protestants believe they aren't canon.

I'll agree with you again--I don't think this different fundamentally changes who we are, or how we see God or his plan for the world, or our part in that plan. To me, that plan is clear, and it takes but my belief to be a part of it.

SuSu

7/13/2015 04:56:47 pm

Vanessa, you have always amazed me with your understanding of things! I love you.

Kelly Thompson link

10/28/2022 08:41:35 pm

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The Box

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